Faculty Views

Here's a look at some of the scientists whose ideas helped shape the Advanced Science Research Center

Lesley Davenport ties knots in DNA telomeres

Lesley Davenport

Telomeres, specialized proteins at the ends of chromosomes, protect
genetic information by forming square knots called G-quadruplexes.
Telomeres normally shorten with each division, which eventually
triggers cell death. But cancer switches on an enzyme that
elongates telomeres, establishing immortality with uncontrolled
growth.

"You can inhibit this enzyme by locking the telomeres into the
quadruplex, which opens an avenue for chemotherapeutic
development," explained Davenport, professor of chemistry at
Brooklyn College. Seeking the best spot to attach a quadruplex
lock, she inserts a specially synthesized, fluorescent analog of
guanine (a building block of DNA) in different places in telomeric
DNA.

Since fluorescence can help scientists visualize structures even at
low concentrations, she recommended that the ASRC include
fluorescence spectroscopic equipment.

Daniel L. Akins thinks small — very small

Daniel L. Akins

This Distinguished Service Professor of Chemistry at City College
has patented an inexpensive way of making nanotubes,
which are cylinders of carbon atoms that "have fantastic
properties. They're stronger than steel, conduct better than the
best metal conductors and have chemical properties that allow one
to attach things to them." Things like gold nanoparticles that can
register minute electric currents, turning nanotubes into
atomic-sized sensors.

Such a sensor could, with the right blood-sampling system, alert
people with diabetes to the presence of hydrogen peroxide, which
indicates insulin deficiency. The ASRC's advanced imaging equipment
will give Akins an even more precise view of the normally invisible
world in which he works.

Fred Moshary watches the wind

Fred Moshary

A professor at City College's Grove School of Engineering, Moshary
helped make the case for placing a 12-by-24-foot atmospheric
observatory on the ASRC's roof. There, researchers will visualize
the air with novel sensing equipment. For example, they are
designing a laser device to bounce light off airborne particulates
and molecules.

"The main thing we're looking for on the health side is pollution,"
Moshary said. "On the environment side, aerosols [liquid or solid
particles] figure into the global warming equation, primarily
because they represent a cooling effect, not a warming effect."
Carbon dioxide, water vapor and other components of air also have
an impact. "When you're studying the global warming picture, you
have to look at the overall energy balance."

Marie Filbin hits a nerve — and enables it to regenerate when injured

Marie Filbin

Nerves are protected by a sheath containing a protein called MAG
(myelin-associated glycoprotein), which prevents nerves from
sprouting randomly. But MAG also blocks damaged nerves from
regrowing.

Filbin, a Distinguished Professor of Biology at Hunter College,
found that cyclic AMP, a molecule present in every cell,
counteracts MAG. The next step is for colleagues to conduct
preclinical trials that could lead to treatment of paralysis and
nerve-killing Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and motor neuron diseases.

She said ASRC's labs will make genetic manipulation easier, "so you
can induce a neuron to make more of the molecules that you're
interested in." The facilities also "will bring in some top
neuroscientists to do their research, and that will be a big plus
for me in terms of collaboration and expertise."

Vinod Menon plays tricks with light

Vinod Menon

'You design materials that do not exist in nature, you send light
through them, and the light behaves in the way you want it to, such
as by turning off or on. Or you design a medium so that the light
changes the properties of the material," such as by switching
between transparent and reflective, said Queens College Assistant
Professor Vinod Menon, one of CUNY's "cluster hires" in photonics.

Photonics is best known for fiber-optic communications, but
research also includes biology, medicine, computer displays and
lighting (think light-emitting diodes, or LEDs)—plus the futuristic
fields of quantum information processing and quantum encryption, in
which data reside on single photons (which are to light what
electrons are to electricity). Menon looked forward to using the
ASRC's nanofabrication facility and ultrasharp imaging equipment to
make his devices.